Website Hosting (Paid) & Domain Registrars

When setting up your own domain which is completely under your control, you use a “host” to store your files and content online. Many hosts also offer domain registration services, where you can purchase your “.com” (or any of a gazillion other extensions).

There are a TON of “adult hosting solutions” out there. You’ll ordinarily pay through the nose for hosting there as they cater to a niche market who is desperate for hosting. Don’t fall into that trap when you can host with adult friendly mainstream services.

Your very basic starter hosting plan should not cost you much more than $5 a month.

Hostgator – TOS – Hostgator is used by many adult bloggers, but their TOS is a bit dubious, containing that catch-all word “obscene”  “Any material that, in our judgment, is obscene, threatening, illegal, or violates our terms of service in any manner may be removed from our servers (or otherwise disabled), with or without notice.”

NameCheap – Hosting TOS – Domain Reg TOS – Namecheap is another company using that grey area of “obscene” in their TOS for hosting. “web-hosting.com reserves the right to refuse Service if any of the content within, or any links from, the Your website is deemed […] obscene, or is otherwise in breach of web-hosting.com’s AUP, in the sole and absolute opinion of web-hosting.com.” There is no mention of anything adult in their domain registration TOS.

NameSilo – TOS My new preferred domain registrar has free WhoIs Protection for life. Their terms don’ t have any sort of adult-related clauses outside of the standard one for child images.

Arvixe – TOS – As recommended by Domsigns, this host also doesn’t list any specific restrictions against legal adult activities.

NakedHosting / Certified Hosting – AUP – Used by a number of adult webmasters (both small and very large), they also have the “obscene” clause, but no other restrictions. “you will not […] publish, post, upload, distribute, traffic or disseminate any defamatory, obscene, or otherwise unlawful content, such as child pornography”

YourHosting (Dutch service) – TOS – Confirmed by my Dutch speaking friend Marie Rebelle, there is no restriction on content in their TOS other than the standard child pornography.

UNFRIENDLY

GoDaddy – TOS – Used a lot because of their cheap prices, their TOS is self-explanatory. “You will not submit content or links to content that is […] pornographic, X-rated, obscene […] or is otherwise objectionable as determined by us in our sole and absolute discretion”

Updated to add…

@RubyGoodnight @jizlee @FemPornCon You can add GreenGeeks, BlueHost, MediaTemple, and LaughingSquid to the "unfriendly," by the way. 🙁

— Chris Lowrance (@chrislowrance) February 13, 2014

Website Hosting (Free)

Freehosts in the “adult” world are typically populated by those wishing to get free pages to spam for backlinks, so the choices available are sometimes a bit crappy. With the two main players (WordPress and Blogger) now turning their backs on the adult world, the choices for quality adult freehosting is limited.

Most freehosts will limit you to using their own domain with a subdomain assigned to you (http://yoursite.hostname.com) while others will allow you to purchase your own domain name to point to it.

Red Light Host – TOS – Their TOS is very open, making me believe that there is little to no restriction on content at all. Their only mention of what you cannot have on their site is “[s]ites that exploit images of children under 18 years of age.” This may be a site where those taboo niches can survive.

Freeblog.xxx – TOS – Another site where the only content limitation seems to be child pornography. “Sites that exploit images of children under 18 years of age.” Maybe another taboo niche option?

Nibblebit – TOS – They allow adult content, but you need to label your blog as containing adult content. They have the standard restricton on CP, but also include beast. “We allow users to upload and post legal adult content. The blog MUST be rated as Adult.”

UNFRIENDLY

WordPress.com – Mature Content TOS – While they say they do “do permit mature content on WordPress.com”, there are a whole schlew of caveats, including no links to “adult-oriented affiliate networks“, no “explicit sexual materials that can be considered pornographic” and no links to sex worker sites.

Blogger / Blogspot- Content Policy – Even though they “do allow adult content on Blogger“, it also says “Do not use Blogger as a way to make money on adult content.” Clear as mud, right? Updated: As of March 23, 2015, Blogger will only “allow nudity if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts.”

Livejournal – TOS – Another no-naked zone. “LiveJournal reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to suspend any Account, remove any Content, and/or restrict access to any part of the Service that contains full nudity, violence, obscenity…”

Video Sharing Sites

A lot of bloggers and sex toy reviewers like to create video content to go along with their posts, but for what ever reason can’t “host” the video on their own site. Video sharing sites allow you to upload your content to their sites and insert it into your posts.

Unfortunately, the most popular ones are not adult friendly! Another option that many sex bloggers use are what are called “tube” sites – free porn platforms where the users upload their own videos.

UNFRIENDLY

YouTube – Community Guidelines – While sex toys seem to be safe, sexual nudity and the like aren’t. “YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content.”

Viemo – Guidelines – “No sexually explicit material or pornography” but “[a]rtistic and non-sexual nudity is allowed“. They go into greater detail on this divide in their FAQ.

Daily Motion – Prohibited – No sex allowed! “any sexually explicit content (including but not limited to images of rape, bestiality, intercourse, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, explicit depiction of male or female genitalia or pubic areas, pedophilia or necrophilia)”

Vine – Explicit Content FAQ – While this Twitter-owned video site used to be adult friendly, changes made to their AUP in 2014 state “Pornographic or explicit sexual content is not allowed on Vine.” including but not limited to sex acts, sexually explicit nudity, and sexually graphic animation.

Social Media

Whether you’re sharing images, words, videos or sound, social media is the way to do it. With the gazillions of SM options out there, you also get the huge span of what’s allowed and what is not.

Here are the more popular options – both adult friendly social media outlets and those that are not – for your sharing needs.

Now, with social media accounts, you may find that there are a number of accounts that violate TOS and AUP agreements that stay on for years. With large networks, they usually rely on users reporting material that goes against the rules. So if you’re among like minded people, you may survive. But – as always, when going against the TOS – be ready to have your account canned at a moment’s notice.

Tumblr – Adult Content – Tumblr allows adult, but with a few restrictions. Tumblr blogs that are flagged as “NSFW” are only searchable if the user is logged in, and is browsing in safe mode. “If your blog contains nudity, mature or adult-oriented content, please respect the choices of the people in our community and flag your blog NSFW from your Settings page.” They also tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to how much “spam” they will tolerate through affiliate linking.

UNFRIENDLY

Facebook – Community Standards – Facebook still hates nakedness, but it doesn’t seem to mind images of sex toys or promotion of erotica. “Facebook has a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and any explicitly sexual content where a minor is involved. We also impose limitations on the display of nudity.”

Pinterest – AUP – Pinterest is very hit-and-miss when it comes to their takedowns. Their AUP states “you agree not to post User Content that […] is sexually explicit or pornographic“. My personal experience is that this even covers realistic sex toys (ie porn star molded dildos).

Google+ – Policy – Another no sex zone! “Do not distribute content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Do not drive traffic to commercial pornography sites. Your Profile Picture cannot include mature or offensive content. For example, do not use a photo that is a close-up of a person’s buttocks or cleavage.“

Payment Processors / E-Wallets

Getting paid for adult work can sometimes be difficult if you’re unable to take wires or bank transfers. Most adult friendly payment systems have what are called “e-wallets” (kind of like virtual bank accounts – but definitely NOT a bank account) as well as cards that can be loaded and used like a pre-paid debit card. Always do LOTS of research on these before you start using them and never leave money in them for very long if you can help it.

In full disclosure, I don’t use any of these services listed, as I am able to receive payments other ways (like checks, wires, and bank transfers). 

Paxum – TOS – Paxum doesn’t list any adult related restrictions in their TOS, other than the standard “activities that violate any law, statute, ordinance, contract or regulation“. From my communications with webmasters, they are the more difficult company to deal with, as far as needing to provide identity documents before opening an account, as well as customer support knowledge. (I have no personal experience with them.) As I suggest with all e-wallet solutions, withdraw your money as soon as you can to prevent any possible issues and do not treat it as a bank account.

RedPass – TOS – Yet another ewallet solution, but this also has been difficult to deal with. You actually have to supply your email address before you see any TOS. (unless you click the link above). This method only has the usual ‘illegal activities’ clause, as well as a restrction on gambling. “You may not use your Card for any illegal transactions, at gambling sites or for any gambling activity.” Usual ‘don’t use as a bank account and withdraw right away’ suggestions apply.

Bitcoins – While this isn’t a “payment processor” per se, it’s a way that you can get paid for services under the radar of most institutions, if that is your main goal. Bitcoins can literally be used to pay for anything – legal or otherwise. You’ll need to set up a Bitcoin wallet and convert your local currency into Bitcoins so you know what to charge.

UNFRIENDLY

Paypal – TOS – Their TOS forbids “items that are considered obscene” and “certain sexually oriented materials or services” which is as clear as mud. The “rule of thumb” that is followed by most in the adult industry is that physical goods are alright (payments in exchange for sex toys, DVDs, hard drives, etc) but not for non-physical goods (website memberships, computer files [including images and written content], ad space, services etc.) aren’t. This isn’t the end all be all, as we know what happened with Paypal and erotica last year. IMO – too risky to use, unless you know what you are doing.